Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may generate poor self esteem and affect a child's development and functioning. Medical treatment with stimulants, and behavioural treatment, may be useful, but who should be treated and how? In a “For and Against” article (p 907), Coghill says that ADHD is undertreated: in England and Wales only 30% of children with the most severe form of the condition are treated. Markovich argues that current uncertainties about diagnosis and treatment mean that doctors should be more cautious about prescribing psychoactive drugs—if we were to follow American guidelines, as many as 17% of all children would be treated.
Figure 1.
Credit: VEER/PHOTONICA